Just got the pressure-plate pictures. To my untrained eye there seems to be a lot less wear around the inner and outer edges than within the middle.

 

Does this look like the missus and I have driven like Lewis Hamilton for 17k miles? We certainly have not.

 

Edited 5 May, 201610 yr by Orville

Hmmmm... Mine is slipping too at 30tkm. Ever so slightly, but it is.

To me (mine) seems to be a problem with the pressure plate not engaging and disengaging properly - sometimes it is hard to shift out of gears.

I am already looking at uprated clutch parts to replace the stock one, but concerned about the throwout bearing/master cylinder, because I feel that might be the cause of issues with this clutch.

I will monitor this thread and others related...

My feeling is that there are problems with this clutch. Am wondering even if the problem is with the DMF also having some play in it, but a DMF on a sports car that lasts so little? Hope this is not the same assembly they put on the Golf R or on the Seat Leon Cupra R.

worrying.  I'd read of some really early failures on golf gtis but thought they were mapped.  Time to start researching.  Sachs got to be worth a look

 

http://www.sachsperformance.com/Sachs-Performance-Clutch-Powerclutch/Audi/Audi-A3-8PA-Sportback-09-04-/2-0-TFSI-147-kW-;-CAWB-CCZA-;-09/2004/SRE-Performance-Clutch-Kit::67.html

 

http://www.sachsperformance.com/Sachs-Performance-Clutch-Powerclutch/VW/VW-Golf-IV-Variant-05-99-%3E/1-9-TDI-4motion-85-kW-;-05/1999-06/2001/ZF-Sachs-Central-Slave-Cylinder-clutch::692.html

We have been using Helix uprated parts.  Slightly firmer pedal but that gives more feel.  They cope with over 400 lbft too which is a tad higher than a stock car!

I have shown the pictures to one of the fitters at a local garage. I only had my mobile with me and he couldn't see them very clearly, but his impression was that no-way the parts had done only 17K miles unless I had been "launching" the car from every set of lights or there was a mechanical fault. When I told him about the high-bite point since new he speculated that it could have been a grab issue, where the release system failed to provide enough pressure for the disc and plate to grab effectively. He said in such cases there may have been some slip since new, causing extreme wear. He also thought it very strange that there appears little or no wear on the inside plate edge.

 

If the car was "out of warranty" I would have purchased a up-rated clutch. As it stand I prefer to keep the (CRAP) warranty, and as I will probably hand the car back after the PCP ends I cannot install non OEM parts anyway.

Edited 5 May, 201610 yr by Orville

That looks exactly like the stock clutch my 106 gti had after I fitted a rotrex supercharger and got 190bhp at the wheels from it... Cooked. Unless you ride the clutch like hell(not saying you do) there is no way a standard clutch should be worn like that after 17k unless there was something seriously wrong with it!! The heat scortch on the flywheel is a clear indication of slippage.

This has got me worried about mine as I had a distinct clutch aroma from it the other day after giving the car a bit of a beating down some country lanes in 4th gear with no shifting at all do it couldn't have been me! Mines only at 15k and is just over 2 years old now which sounds like a similar age to yours?

What was also said is that there looks to be enough meat left in the clutch that it should not have been slipping at moment anyway. He advised to keep all of the parts (already requested), write a "contested wear & tear note" on the job invoice before signing/paying, talking/writing to the manufacturer (already tried talking to SUK CS twice, waste of time), and raising a case with the consumer ombudsman and Auto press if not placated. I fully understand that the Dealer has no way of knowing how the car has been driven, and that they are just doing their job. I have absolutely no hard feelings towards them, just a lot of frustration with the car and Skoda. This is my first Skoda and I had thought very highly of it until the past few weeks.

 

Apart from two water-pump replacements, the sound generator rattling / having to be turned off, a slipping driver seat, and a clutch failure, the VRS has been great. Saying that, it has now proven to be the least reliable new car I have owned. Funnily enough, two VW's come 2nd & 3rd in the least-reliable stakes, and two Renault's, a Fiat and a Subaru were faultless in 2-3 years of ownership.

What was also said is that there looks to be enough meat left in the clutch that it should not have been slipping at moment anyway. He advised to keep all of the parts (already requested), write a "contested wear & tear note" on the job invoice before signing/paying, talking/writing to the manufacturer (already tried talking to SUK CS twice, waste of time), and raising a case with the consumer ombudsman and Auto press if not placated. I fully understand that the Dealer has no way of knowing how the car has been driven, and that they are just doing their job. I have absolutely no hard feelings towards them, just a lot of frustration with the car and Skoda. This is my first Skoda and I had thought very highly of it until the past few weeks.

Apart from two water-pump replacements, the sound generator rattling / having to be turned off, a slipping driver seat, and a clutch failure, the VRS has been great. Saying that, it has now proven to be the least reliable new car I have owned. Funnily enough, two VW's come 2nd & 3rd in the least-reliable stakes, and two Renault's, a Fiat and a Subaru were faultless in 2-3 years of ownership.

Agreed that the dealers are usually not to blame. They have to deal with the crap that rolls off the production line. Thankless task.

My Octavia is my first ever new car but of all the cars I've owned the VAG cars have been the second least reliable after BMW's. The most reliable have been Peugeot's... I have had 7 years with two Peugeot's that had absolutely no faults at all, no corrosion, rattles or electrical gremlins all way past 100k. where as my vws have all had a few issues a year, some minor others major... From unexpected corrosion and switches failing to a subframe coming loose and steering lock fault. My VRS had had the boot lock adjusted, Xenon controller replaced, peeling underseal. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a great car but all of the VAG cars seem to have their fair share of niggly little issues possibly down to poor quality control I don't know. I will have to keep an eye on my clutch for any changes

Subframe coming loose! I dearly hope that was a definite one off. Very worrying safety issue not only for ones self but more so when transporting family.

Is it a VAG chargeable option to have quality control added?

And some think a different model dipstick is and issue.....:-S

Apologies for diverting

Edited 2 May, 201610 yr by octavianestate

Google Passat subframe knock... Think it was also common on the golf's as well. Swapping some bits for Audi parts fixed it for me. I think I may have been unlucky with vw as the Passat was a B6 and they are renowned for being troublesome not that I knew this when I bought it, and when it did work it was really very good.

Anyway back on topic I really do hope Skoda see sense and sort this out for you as it's pretty obvious that something isn't right.

Car won't be ready until tomorrow due to parts not arriving when expected. Dealer insists on charging me due to SUK's 6K/6 month warranty (and no obvious sign of fault), so I will write to SUK, contact the Consumer Ombudsman & Auto-Press, and post a few Youtube videos showing VAG clutch wear after 17K miles.

 

It is supposed to be a sporty car that I rarely drive sportily and have never pushed anywhere near it's limits. My wife poodles around in it and wouldn't even notice if someone replaced the engine with a 1.2L, yet the clutch fails within 15-17K.

 

My wife says that I should have purchased the Mazda CX-5 she wanted instead. She told me not to buy a crappy Skoda in the first place, blah, blah, blah. I don't know what's more annoying at the moment, the Czech tin-can or the wife going on about it.

Edited 3 May, 201610 yr by Orville

She told me not to buy a crappy Skoda in the first place, blah, blah, blah. I don't know what's more annoying at the moment, the Czech tin-can or the wife going on about it.

Oh dear I hope I have better look with mine when it eventually arrives.

Gorilla tape is good for many different things but probably not fixing a clutch but putting over one's wife mouth could be worth a try lol.

Good look with your outcome .

Edited 3 May, 201610 yr by Jonesy220

To my untrained eye the wear looks uneven so I hope you can prove it is a fault. It is possible to burn out a clutch but it takes some doing.

The last case I heard of locally was young bloke who claimed he could drive a manual and burnt out the (new) work ute clutch in under two weeks. Goodness knows what he did but it cost him his job.

The wife does not rest her foot on the clutch pedal does she?

My Octavia is my first ever new car but of all the cars I've owned the VAG cars have been the second least reliable after BMW's. The most reliable have been Peugeot's...

 

Interestingly, the wife has only owned 2 cars in 16 years of driving, both Renaults, and neither has missed a beat, so maybe the French aren't as bad as we think.

 

That said, I've just put the hoodoo on the current one, haven't I ?!!

Interestingly, the wife has only owned 2 cars in 16 years of driving, both Renaults, and neither has missed a beat, so maybe the French aren't as bad as we think.

 

That said, I've just put the hoodoo on the current one, haven't I ?!!

 

on the other hand I've owned 6 Peugeots, 1 Renault and 2 Citroens. Both my 106 & 306's (3 in total) were fine, nothing more than wear and tear items and the odd electrical fault. The 406 had major engine issues with numerous sensors and the 206 HDi was the worse of the lot on average it was in the garage twice a month!!

 

First Citroen Saxo was fine, swapped it for a newier one and that was a mistake, gearbox issues, overheating issues, sensor and dash issues.

 

The Renault was a nice car but again dogged with sensor issues and failed turbo.

 

So the above is a mix bag really, but it was enough to put me off buy French again.

 

On contrast the VAG's have been better. 4 new skoda's and out of them all, they have been fine. Ok so the MK2FL Octavia had a seized caliper, and towards the end the DPF light came on (mainly down to low mileage and a known sensor issue), The fabia was amazing, as was the citigo, as for the MK3 Octavia, yes it has some issues but *touchwood* nothing more than a niggle. Had a few VW polo's too and they have been fine.

 

I find the difference is how they deal with the issue, Peugeot on one hand, pretended there was never a problem, refused to accept a recall or let me reject the car.

 

Skoda on the other hand, in my personal experience, have always been helpful. Even when out of warranty, they have done their best to help out, both from the dealer and Skoda UK

Turn those photos into a collage and keep pasting it into the comments of every skoda advertisement thread on facebook, that will get a response!

Very disappointing on the side of Skoda, hope you get something sorted!

I

Turn those photos into a collage and keep pasting it into the comments of every skoda advertisement thread on facebook, that will get a response!

Very disappointing on the side of Skoda, hope you get something sorted!

I really do prefer to be reasonable and allow Skoda a chance to resolve things. If I had abused the car (which I have not) then I would still expect the clutch on Skoda's sportiest model to last >17K miles. Hopefully I can talk to someone reasonable before getting bitter and twisted. This does not appear to be a common fault so I guess that I have been really unlucky.

Failing reason I will post pictures on every Skoda/VAG forum and social media network I can find. I know that £850 is a small percentage of the £25k the car cost, but I do feel very hard-done-by. The first time I noticed slip was before Christmas at just 14-15K miles, but I was unsure whether I was imagining things. The car may have been slipping by several hundred RPM from nearly new and I never really noticed it. The bite point was always really high but I thought it was just a trait of the car. I even commented during my first few weeks of ownership that Sport-mode was almost undriveable, and I now think this was due to the clutch not having sufficient travel when mated to the more aggressive throttle response. At the time I assumed the throttle response was too aggressive in Sport and did not consider a faulty clutch assembly (after all, it was a new car). I remember bunny-hopping when pulling away in first, and have left the car within Normal-mode ever since.

When I get the bits back I will post sone very high resolution pictures.

Edited 3 May, 201610 yr by Orville

II really do prefer to be reasonable and allow Skoda a chance to resolve things.

Your post earlier above said you were writing to skoda, going to the auto press and creating YouTube videos? I thought you were trying to find ways to gain attention rather than leaving the ball in their court! Save it for later then!

Your post earlier above said you were writing to skoda, going to the auto press and creating YouTube videos? I thought you were trying to find ways to gain attention rather than leaving the ball in their court! Save it for later then!

In that order, not all at once. I will allow Skoda a chance to reply before escalating. So far I have only posted here to gauge opinion.

Edited 3 May, 201610 yr by Orville

I have my car back. The clutch has been replaced (at my cost), and first impression is that it is a completely different car to drive. Where the old clutch bit right at the top of the pedal (from new), the replacement bites close to the bottom. I nearly stalled it the first time pulling away. I would say that the old unit bit about an inch from the top and the new on an inch from the bottom. The difference is night & day and the new feels much better.

 

The mechanic was very friendly and explained the clutch and disc signs of wear to me. He said there was no way of knowing when the damage was done. It may have been my driving style (NOT), or even someone tearing it around the parking lot before I took delivery. The fact that bite point was high from new may indicate someone abused it within 10-20 miles before I got it, or that there was some unidentified issue. I will write a letter to Skoda, and follow-up as needed. I am certainly far from happy.

Ok so either the clutch fairy got to it in the first 20 miles or ...?

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

Wife has just picked the kids up and says she almost stalled it too. She agrees that the old clutch never felt like the new one. She is normally oblivious to driving with punctured tyres and such things, so it confirms there is a huge difference. If I wasn't before today, I am now completed convinced the clutch was balked from day#1.

If Skoda wont help you, there may be a ide to contact the OEM manufacture SACHS directly.

The pictures should tell them if this is a production fault, and for them this could be of major interest.

Here you will find the online contact form:

 

http://www.zf.com/brands/en_de/sachs/technology_sx/technical_inquiries_sx/technical-support.jsp

Orville - just out of interest, which dealer did you buy the car from?

 

The reason I ask is that when the VRS was first launched, I had a look at one in a well known dealer, and checking the underside, it had almost certainly been on a track i.e. it had heavy scuffing on both sides of the underside of the front spoiler, where it had clipped the kerbs. I enquired with the salesman who said that the owner had taken it out, and declared it 'well sorted'. That was a used one, mind.

 

Just makes you wonder if you have had some pre-purchase action...